People & Inspiration

Lifestyle Hotshots: Meet Tubig At Langis' Victor Silayan, Your Modern Day Old School Gentleman

In this day and age of equality of the sexes, the polite way to interact with women can be confusing. Gender equality issues raise legitimate concerns as to how men should treat women respectfully without belittling their worth as high value females. Without worrying about nitpicking about protocols like how to shake hands or make an introduction, practicing a few gentlemanly behaviors can set a man apart from his belching and ass-slapping male cohorts, elevating him a cut above the rest. Sounds difficult and too old-school? Perhaps not.

Somehow, Jose Marie Victor Silayan (Jome or Victor for short), businessman and actor, makes being nonchalantly debonaire look so easy. The old-world chivalry of this 27-year old stunner goes a long way to make a girl feel special. The best part? None of it is contrived: from the way he speaks (polite, with an unpretentious, easy charm), his sartorial sense (casually elegant), to his manners (stands when a lady enters and leaves the room), Jome exudes sincerity in everything that he does. This begs the question: how does he pull this all off with ease?

How millennial are you and why? “I consider myself an old soul.”

How do you counter the myth about millennials being too entitled?“Growing up, I was never privileged. Everything that I have, everything that I am right now, was all borne from hard work. It’s not that I consciously practice not being a ‘millennial’, that’s just my nature. I don’t buy into most of the mentality that seems to be pervasive among today’s youth, especially when it comes to entitlement. I’m more of the ‘you gotta do things’ frame of mind. I believe that you have to work towards your goals and that you get what you deserve.”

How did you get started with using social IG in your projects/advocacies? “IG is like your personal magazine. It’s a place where you express what you do, who you are. Health has always been my advocacy. When I was young, sakitin ako. You would never catch me not sick, once a week. It’s such a hassle to get sick. I wanted to correct that, I started getting into martial arts and fitness, and eating healthy. That’s why I established my company, the Healthy House, a nutrition and meal-plan company that provides pre-packed, portion controlled, healthy meals. IG is my way to help promote my business.

As a millennial, we’re feeling you still want to have more in life. What else do you dream of doing in the future despite juggling a lot of stuff now? “I plan to build a nutrition empire by growing the Healthy House. The company is my greatest accomplishment, where I combined my passion and advocacies for health and fitness. I’m also a frustrated chef. All my dreams, and what I see myself doing, or what I want to get into, or what I want to build, are concepts to innovate the food industry. For instance, I’m developing a new concept called ‘A La Carte,’ which gives you a meal kit, with all the ingredients you need to cook incredible meals. The other one, with Bianca King, is a lunch service that serve tasty, organic and fresh meals that are not as restrictive as the ones we serve in Healthy House.”

How meticulous are you with your posts? Describe your process. “I’m quite meticulous. I’m very keen about the aesthetics of my feed. When you look at the thumbnails, each picture has to complement each other. The color palettes have to be the same, nothing abrupt. The transition of the pictures has to have a nice flow.”

What do you think is your most ‘exciting’ post? Which one receives the most likes? “All the topless photos. That’s what the fans like, they want me topless! (Laughs) Either that, or the ones with my girlfriend. Or the ones with my dogs.”

What are your mid-summer plans?

“Work. I’ll be busy with work.”

Any dream destination and why? “I’ve never been to Europe yet, I would love to do a Euro trip: Spain, Italy, France, and Amsterdam for starters.”

Ideal summer escapade and why?“I’m a tropical person. I love the beach. So any beach would be perfect.”

Ideal summer date and why?“I’ll take her to the beach. That’s my happy place. I’d like to share that experience with a really awesome girl.”

How do you maintain your bod during the summer?“I maintain my fitness the same way throughout the year. I hit the gym regularly, eat clean food. I drink a lot of water. I manage my stress properly. I don’t smoke. I do drink, but I know my limitations. As much as I can, I get eight hours of sleep.”

Fave workout?“Complex workouts. These are high intensity programs that use light to moderate weights but high repetitions, with only 10-15 seconds break. The maximum time that I work out is around 30 to 45 minutes.”

Most recommended diet?“The Healthy House Diet plan.”

Your most effective gwapo trick?“I’m a mama’s boy. I just be myself, that’s it. I don’t try to impress the girl. I don’t try to be somebody else. Physically, you gotta look decent, be clean looking. Generally, practice good hygiene.”

Your most effective trick to get the girl? “I was brought up to be a gentleman, so when I say ‘chivalry is not dead’, I mean it: open the doors for all women, let her go in first. Escalators going down? Be in front. Escalator up? Be behind. Be genuine. Listen and pay attention. Basically, just be a decent man.”